Ghosts My Arse!
by Racoda Moonshine
Summary: Have you ever had the feeling that you were being watched? Or like Jack, do you take the "Ghosts My Arse" approach? Either way you look at it something strange is definitely going on in Draegan Manor. Full summary inside, promise it's better than it seems
1. Prologue

**Have you ever had the feeling that you were being watched? See a flitting glance of something out of the corner of your eye? Heard the whisper of an unseen entity? Is that steamed up window writing messages by itself? Or is the door that slams on its own starting to creep you out? What if that black cat you saw across the street wasn't just staring at you out of curiosity? And what if the whole time you've been dismissing these things, you've been putting yourself at risk. Or like Jack do silly superstitions and made up myths make you take the "Ghosts My Arse" approach? Either way you look at it, something strange is definitely going on in Draegan Manor.**

This idea has been in my head for ages and since I have severe writers block on An Angel in Cardiff!? I thought I might as well write this instead. That doesn't mean I'm not writing AAiC anymore but I probs won't be updating it for ages! Lol, anyway, I've always had this idea about a haunted house but never knew what to make it about but then one day...*lightbulb turns on* PING! XD Anyway! As always I don't own Torchwood or any of its characters blah blah blah. I hope you likey and feel free to review (hint hint) xx

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**_Prologue_**

_The wind howled through the trees like a wolf would to the moon. In return, the trees bowed and creaked, sending shadows flitting along the ground. The clouds circled overhead, large black shapes that patrolled the skies to rid the surroundings of any light that might make it through to the world. Mist. Thick, damp mist hung in the air and swallowed up everything in its path. The house sat in the midst of the forest in arrogant silence as the wind battered the aging building. Ancient black wrought iron fencing tipped with spikes covered in withered vines encircle the house. The large pillars stand against the house walls, gargoyles perched on them, peering out as if to keep people away, or maybe to invite them in? Something in the air makes a noise that almost sounds like the whispers of those who lay beneath the moss covered ground. The grey bricks were cracked and chipped, ivy crawling up the surface and creeping into the crevices. The top left window of the house was the only one not boarded up, the dust stained glass staring out at the world. Only the glass wasn't the only thing staring out, something else, something more sinister was looking out at the world. Something that would do anything to be free of that cursed house._


	2. Chapter One

**_Chapter One_**

Jack was just going through some paperwork when Ianto entered his office, no doubt to ask for said paperwork.

"Alright Yan', I'll have this done soon don't get your knickers in a knot." Jack said nearly automatically. Ianto rolled his eyes.

"Actually I'm not here about that although I should be since that paperwork is weeks old." He retorted. Jack looked up at the man he had hired more for his gorgeous butt than his amazing coffee.

"Then is there another reason for your visit?" Jack asked, his voice taking on a somewhat seductive tone. Ianto managed to hide the smirk that wanted to grow on his lips. He walked forward and placed both his palms on the desk, keeping it between the two men and leaning forward.

"Yes there was, it was quite important as well." Ianto said, finally letting the smirk grace his face. Jack slid his hand across the desk and grazed the other mans fingers with his. Ianto didn't respond, just let Jack continue.

"Well you better tell me, if it's so _important_." Jack replied, his voice low and teasing. Ianto chuckled and pulled back his hand, standing up straight.

"Gwen's looking for you, something about a tip off from PC Davidson." He said, smirking when Jack sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

"Right, I'll be down in a minute." He said. Ianto was about to leave when Jack jumped up and nearly bolted over the table to grab him by the waist. Ianto looked up into the Captains eyes and raised an eyebrow.  
"I'm sure Gwen wouldn't mind waiting." Jack stated, playing idly with Ianto's tie. The coffee boy pulled back and turned to leave.

"Now, now Jack, you know the rules. I've got a boyfriend now." He said, turning back to smile playfully at the Captain. Jack smirked and spanked Ianto before the other man had time to complain.

"And does he know you flirt with other men so expertly with your gorgeous body?" he asked. Ianto straightened his tie and smiled.

"Yes he does. In fact…that's how we got together." Ianto said before winking at Jack and walking back out into the Hub. Jack just smiled and sat back down at his desk, signing the last few bits of paper before he was forced to go and talk to Gwen about something sweet little PC Andy had told her.


	3. Chapter Two

_**A/N - I have a feeling this story is gonna take a while for me to write...and it will come in short paragraphs...sorry :)

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**_Chapter Two_**

"Draegan Manor." Gwen said, throwing Jack a file with quite a hefty amount of paperwork in it. Jack sighed and flicked through the paperwork half heartedly, trying to humour Gwen.

"What about it?" Jack asked flatly, knowing the place rather well. Gwen clicked a button on the remote and the large screen behind her flicked into action, revealing a picture of a teenage boy, a bit of a geek Jack would have said.

"Harry Holmes, seventeen, lives in Cardiff, or rather _lived_." Gwen informed the captain. Jack skimmed over the boy's personal records, nothing interesting to be honest.

"So? What connects that hell hole with this kid Harry Holmes?" Jack queried. Gwen clicked the remote again and the screen faded to a different picture, this one being a scanned photo of a newspaper.

"Local boy disappears in haunted house." Jack read aloud. Gwen nodded and stood beside Jack, looking down at him.

"What do you want us to do about it Gwen huh? Some kid gets lost and goes missing. Happens all the time." Jack told her, not seeing how this situation had anything to do with him or Torchwood. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"A haunted house? A missing boy? Oh come on Jack it's like a detectives dream case! Quick and easy to solve." She exclaimed. Jack threw the file down on the desk in front of him.

"You forget that we aren't detectives Gwen. Our dream case isn't some kid who's got lost in a rickety old house and can't get home."

Gwen sat on the edge of the desk and touched Jack's forearm.

"Come on Jack, if you're so sure we'll find this kid so quickly then there won't be any harm in taking a look will there?" She said, her voice smooth and flirty. Jack stood up sharply, pushing Gwen's hand away from him.

"Don't you go thinking you can flutter your eyelashes at me and I'll roll over like a little lapdog, I ain't Rhys," Jack snapped, "we're not going to Draegan Manor to find some dumb kid, got it?"

Gwen exhaled sharply, walking over to the remote control for the plasma screen and turning it off.

"Fine." She spat.

Jack stormed out, his shout for everyone to "get back to work and stop bloody eavesdropping" almost echoing around the concrete corridors of the Torchwood Cardiff base.

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_**Sorry!!! I know I should just go and shoot myself now for being such a failure but...I have no excuse!!!! *runs off crying while shouting "Review please!"***_


	4. Chapter Three

**_Chapter Three_**

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_The gentle breeze danced around the cherry tree, caressing the delicate pink blossom that hung on the branches. Small bells could be heard as they blew in the calm wind, sounding both low and high notes of welcome. The great Torii gates left a shadow upon the ground, stretching back behind it as the sun smiled down on the earth. Above the trees were the morning birds, soaring high amongst the clouds. The flowers were in full bloom as she ran through the gardens, her Geta clicking along the ground. The bright blue ribbons that were tied in her long, black hair fluttered in the wind, billowing out behind her. The ornate kimono she wore was adorned with elaborate beading and stitching, the image of a blossoming cherry tree, much like the tree in the gardens, pictured on the fabric. Her dark, brown eyes were bright and flecked with tinges of olive green. In her hands she held a small mahogany box, engraved with intricate patterns along the lid. She grasped it as if her life depended on keeping hold of the thing, clasping it close to her chest as she ran. As she reached the far side of the garden she stopped abruptly in front of a large stone statue that towered over her, covering her in its silhouette. The large Shishi statue stared down upon the little girl, baring it's teeth. She heard them for the first time, their heavy boots hammering into the ground as they followed her. Her heart was racing, the heavy beating pounding in her ears. Kneeling down in front of the Shishi, she opened a large panel located on the pedestal that the Shishi sat upon. She placed the box into the little compartment before replacing the panel carefully. Standing up and dusting herself off, the little girl walked calmly towards a small stream that ran through the edge of the garden. She looked down into the crystal water and smiled at her reflection. Lifting her arms up as if praising the sky, she felt the sun kiss her skin softly. Then it happened. Every bird that was sat roosting in the trees fled so fast that their wings could be heard beating the air. The sudden noise had driven any animal, that happened to be nearby, away. The stream now ran scarlet instead of clear, its once tranquil waters now stained with death. The Shishi statue looked over the scene with the same snarling face, the pedestal it stood on holding a secret that had just claimed its latest victim._

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"Gwen, I can't believe you're dragging me up here at half eleven at night!" PC Andy Davidson exclaimed. Gwen rolled her eyes half-heartedly as she ducked to avoid a low branch.

"Come on Andy, where's your sense of adventure?" she teased. Andy held in a groan as he felt his foot sink into the thick forest floor.

"It's back at home, in bed, watching re-runs of _Heartbeat_, why where's yours?" he retorted sarcastically.

Gwen chuckled.

She relented from looking down at her feet, instead letting her imagination tell her that what she was stepping in was just mud that crunched sometimes…and squeaked. Pulling back tree branches that gripped for her, Gwen grit her teeth and battled on through the dank forest. Her torch just about lit the path before her, making sure she didn't amble blindly into any random ravine that might pop up ahead.

Andy was grumbling away to himself when he collided with Gwen's back, the woman having stopped abruptly.

"Gwen! What the fu---"

"We're here!" Gwen said, cutting him off before he had time to turn the air blue.

Andy looked past Gwen's head and saw a large, ancient looking house that was surrounded by large black iron fencing. Gwen walked up to the thin bars and began fiddling with the lock and chains that kept the gates locked, the rust rubbing off on her fingers. Andy hadn't moved from the gap in the trees.

"Well it isn't exactly in mint condition but I can see the appeal, it's homely." He said sarcastically. With one swift kick, the lock split in two and fell into Gwen's hands. She turned around and smiled devilishly at Andy, who folded his arms over his chest and smirked.

"Technically I should be arresting you for criminal damage and breaking and entering, not helping you." He told her. She just stuck her tongue out at him and pushed the gate open, slipping inside and leaving it open for him to follow. Andy sighed and trudged after her.

"Never could resist that pretty face." He muttered under his breath.

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**Sorry it's taken so long kiddies but that cursed writers block has been knawing away at my brain and it's a b*tch to beat :)**

**Well this will probably be the last update for a while since I've got tons of exams upcoming so will be revising like crazy! So enjoy it and review please ^^ x  
**


	5. Chapter Four

**_Chapter Four

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"Have you seen Gwen around anywhere?" Ianto asked Toshiko as he brought her a steaming cup of coffee. Toshiko shrugged as she took a sip.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday when she had that argument with Jack." She replied.

Ianto shrugged and blew softly on the cup of coffee he had in his hands before taking a rather large gulp of the burning liquid. Toshiko raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"No reason to let a _very_ good cup of coffee go to waste." Ianto replied, a bright smile on his face.

"Oi! Tea boy! Where's my coffee!" A voice bellowed. Ianto rolled his eyes.

"I should really just teach Owen to use the coffee machine." He said. Toshiko chuckled.

"Would you even let him _near_ the coffee machine?" she asked. Ianto laughed, holding the cup tightly to warm his hands up.

"Hell no, that would be like throwing a child to a pack of wolves!" he exclaimed sarcastically.

Toshiko cleared her throat as she realised that Ianto wasn't heading towards the coffee machine. Ianto turned and looked back at her.

"Aren't you going to get Owen his cup of coffee?" she asked. Ianto gestured to the cup he had in his hands, the cup he had just drunk out of.

"But…"

Toshiko trailed off as a smirk spread out across Ianto's face.

"What Owen doesn't know can't hurt him." he told her before walking off.

Toshiko chuckled to herself before her computer beeping turned her attention back to her work. She pushed her glasses back up her nose absentmindedly as she dashed from computer programme to computer programme, her eyes scanning over different graphs, numbers and text.

"Jack! Jack!" Toshiko shouted, her voice echoing around the hub. Jack was by her side in a matter of seconds having heard the tinge of panic in the woman's voice.

"What is it Tosh? What have you found?" he asked.

Toshiko brought up a graph on her computer screen that showed several small looking spikes followed by one larger one that nearly spanned the complete height of the monitor.

"Tell me that isn't rift activity. Tell me it's just Owen's daily level of sarcasm." Jack pleaded half heartedly, already know the answer. Toshiko frowned.

"It's recent, happened just a few seconds ago." She replied. Jack ran back up to his office, grabbed his coat and the SUV car keys before running for the tourist information exit.

"Where?" he shouted as he neared the door. Toshiko quickly typed in the coordinates for the energy spike into her computer.

"It's just woodlands, just outside Cardiff. There's a large house in the midst of it called-"

"Draegan Manor." Jack finished her sentence for her. Toshiko looked over at the Captain.

"Do you know it?" she asked. Jack sighed heavily, pulling on his trench coat.

"All too well." He mumbled before leaving swiftly.

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**It's really short! I know! I'm sorry but I am trying! Review please ^^ x**


	6. Chapter Five

**_That God Forsaken House

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The inside of the house was just as the outside was, aging and neglected. Large, heavy drapes hung from high ceilings covered in dust that shut out any light that might have made it through the dense forest outside. Inside the master bedroom, where Gwen stood, there were portraits hung on every available wall, their large wooden frames covered in dust.A four poster bed was squeezed into the corner of the room, the drapes that hung down from the wooden poles covered in filth and what might have once been a cream colour now looked like a dark brown. A grand chest of drawers stood in the opposite corner, the brass handles dented and scratched from years of use and neglect. Above said drawers, nailed to the wall, was a black iron lamp which housed four pale candles in a glass container. They seemed to be the only source of light that would have drowned the gloomy room in warmth. A large full length mirror was propped up against the wall at the bottom of the four poster bed, it's dark wooden frame was tinged with grey of the thick dust that lay upon it. The same could be said for the glass, years and years worth of dust had made its home upon the thin pane of glass, obscuring the reflection of the dreary room. The floorboards groaned under Gwen's feet as she moved, her eyes drinking in every single detail of the room. Her mind was buzzing, the stale air that seemed to seep from the walls making her feel light-headed. Gwen found herself staring at an antique French love seat, the deep red mahogany wood clean of dust or dirt. The black flower patterns stood out on the olive green fabric that adorned the love seat. It was immaculate, the only piece of furniture that seemed as good as new. Her hands trembled as Gwen reached out to touch the pattern fabric.

"Pull yourself together!" she muttered under her breath, steadying her hand as she felt the fine stitching under her fingertips.

She pressed her palm onto the cushion of the seat and ran her hand along the surface. Just when she thought she must be going insane for doing such a pointless thing as stroking a sofa, Gwen's hand ran over a small bump. She pulled her hand across the bump and traced the shape of a book confined in the cushion. Gwen quickly scanned around the room for something she could use to cut through the fabric. Her eyes settled on the mirror and her brain suddenly went into overdrive. Using her foot, Gwen smashed the mirror, the ice like shards falling to the floor. Ripping off half of the sleeve on her jacket, Gwen wrapped it around the base of a large shard of glass so the sharp edges wouldn't cut her palm. She held her make shift knife in her hand and stared at herself in it before moving back over to the seat.

The first tear to the fabric sent a shiver up Gwen's spine. The noise of the ripping fibres like nails on a chalk board.

The bedroom door creaked open as Andy walked in, his head turned to look back at the staircase.

"Wow, this house is great! Maybe not for an asthmatic with all the dust but-" Andy's words stop abruptly when he looked over at Gwen.

"What are you doing? And what happened to your sleeve?" he asked. Gwen motioned to the piece of glass in her hand before continuing to slash through the fancy fabric. Andy was horrified.

"Gwen! That's probably an antique! Stop!" he cried, reaching out to stop her.

Gwen lashed out with the make shift knife, leaving a deep gash in Andy's hand. The policeman yelped as the glass made contact with his skin and blood began to drip to the floor through his fingers as he grasped the wound tightly. Gwen, without hesitation, went back to cutting the book out of the fabric. Andy just stared at her.

"Gwen…what's going on? What's wrong with you?" he asked her, not really expecting a reply for the woman seemed to interested in the book she had just ripped from the seat.

Just as he thought, Gwen ignored PC Andy and her eyes darted around the front cover of what seemed to be a diary. Her fingertips grazed the pepper red cover of the book, her palm taking in the detail of the raised lettering on the spine.

"What is it? A diary?" Andy voiced his sudden thought, feeling a bit safer now that Gwen had dropped the piece of glass in favour of holding said book like it was some sort of holy grail. Gwen glared over at him, her eyes cold and venomous. Andy stepped back slightly, his grasp on the cut on his hand becoming vice like. The woman's attention was drawn back to the book in her hands and she opened it with feather like softness.

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_Property of Caitlin Sword, age 17. If you are reading this then there is only one explanation, you came looking for him. _

Gwen noticed that the writing had been written with a fountain pen, the lettering slanted and elaborate. She turned the page carefully, almost holding her breath.

_They're getting worse. More frequently I would say. Mists in certain places. Dark figures behind me or out of the corner of my eyes. Things moving when they aren't. Faces looking at me. They're taunting me. I'm so paranoid. My heart races and I scare myself silly when I see things and I once heard moaning and someone saying my name when I'm alone in the house. I'm scared to look anywhere in case I see something or someone is behind me. Cold spots. Like someone is blowing on my arms or legs. I hate it. It scares me so much I want to cry out or call out, scream even. I hate this house. I hate this. I just want it to stop. Please make it stop. I'm scared of my own reflection! I can't live my life like this. I feel so small and helpless. I want it to stop. Someone please make it stop. Before they get me._

Gwen's breath caught in her throat as she read. She skimmed past several pages before she found a paragraph that was written in completely different handwriting to that of before. Said writing was scruffy and done in cheap biro.

_It's normal to dream about the future when you're a teenager right? About going clubbing, getting a job, getting married etc. Not me. When I try to look forward I don't see anything. Can't even begin to picture one little thing. I don't know why but I don't think I'm meant to reach adulthood. I mean surely if I was I would be able to visualise something…__**anything! **__That's why I live day to day. I drop all this rubbish about living in the moment but the real reason is I'm an amazing pessimist and hate trying to picture the future. _

"That must be Harry Holmes' writing." Gwen thought, turning the pages trying to find more of Harry's accounts in the small diary. Before she could find more of the same writing, a paragraph caught Gwen's attention. The words started out in their normal fashion, elegant and slanted but then the further along the sentence you got the letters began to change, some being written as capitals and others not.

_The room is dark and cold, just the way I like it. I suppose they must like that as well but then they like any conditions, as long as they can get to me. They're here right now as I write, peering around the doorframe into my bedroom. As I sit in bed I can't begin to describe what they look like for I don't know myself! I can only tell you what they feel like to me, when they shiver through me or bore their eyes right through my soul. They appear in my peripheral vision and hover until I can take it no longer and have to look. When I look they disappear, melt away to be replaced by nothingness as my heart drops. Will this never end? I ask myself this often, when I am tired of their games, the endless torment of childhood fears of things that go bump in the night. They keep coming. Even when I write this I keep getting glances of them. I have to keep looking up and checking. It's horrible! Out of the corner of my eyes I'll see a dark face or body, normally leaning around doorways and

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_

That was where the writing stopped. A small scribble followed the last word before fading away. Gwen pulled out her torch from her pocket and shone it onto the page, looking for any sort of indentation made by someone continuing to write with a pen with no ink. Nothing. Gwen almost sensed Andy's movement more than saw it and she had punched him before she'd even realised her hand had moved. The blood slowly trickled out of the man's nose, running over his lips as he stood frozen to the spot. Gwen's eyes were ablaze with something that, despite her sudden violent action, Andy couldn't bring himself to call anger. Gwen turned away from him, sliding the book into one of the large pockets inside her coat. Andy touched his lips softly before looking down at his fingertips, the deep red liquid glinting when it caught the light from Gwen's torch. Something within Andy snapped. He reached for the handcuffs that he religiously took everywhere with him and grabbed Gwen's arms, wrenching them behind her back roughly and cuffing her. A feral snarl escaped Gwen's lips as she struggled in the metals cuffs. Andy held her arms tightly so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"Gwen, I'm doing this for your own safety," Andy stated before mumbling, "and mine."

Gwen's reply was nothing more than a frustrated grunt.

"Something's happening in this house and I don't like it. We're leaving, whether you like it or not." Andy heard a rather confident and firm voice say.

It was his. Amazingly he had managed to sound commanding even though he could feel his hands shaking.

"Just what I was thinking Andy."

Andy turned his head to see a familiar sight in the doorway. Captain Jack Harkness, each shade of blue in his eyes seemed to be ablaze at that second as if it was taking all of his will power to stop from bolting out of the door and out of that god forsaken house.

"She just…I don't know what's wrong with her!" Andy stammered. Jack smiled slightly and walked over to the other man, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Andy, just sleep." Jack said. Andy raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to speak but felt a sudden pressure at the side of his neck before his eyes flickered shut and darkness overtook him.

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_**Sorry this took like soooooooooooooooooooo long to write but I think it's kinda long for me :D Some of my other chapters have been rather short XD Reviews please ^^**_

_**Edit: I forgot to mention that the diary entrys are actual real entrys made by one of my friends in her diary. She let me use them for my story because she knew I was struggling to come up with anything that I could write for them. I want to thank her for being brave enough to let me publish them online and I think we should all give her a big group hug :)  
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	7. Chapter Six

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay! And I'm really sorry it's mega short but I'm working on it :D**_

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**_Chapter Six_**

_The sun was beating down as she ran though the thatched roof houses. She could hear the heavy footsteps that were following her, had followed her so far, so long. Never relenting from their orders because she was the enemy. This eight year old girl was the enemy. She could feel the stones beneath her feet, slicing and stabbing but she couldn't stop. She'd promised she wouldn't. Their voices became louder as they drew closer and closer, nearing their danger was real, so real that when she hear her heart thumping in her chest she thought it was their bullets pounding into her. She could feel her skin crawling and her blood boiling with the pressure. She was close. She could smell it in the air, the thick coating that was choking her lungs and tearing her throat apart. Her breathing was erratic, she couldn't feel her legs and her mouth was dry. Every part of her body screamed for her to stop, to collapse and give in, but she didn't. Not now, not now that she'd come so far._

_Screams._

_Her head turned to look behind her and she saw the smoke rising from the village. So many screams. Her ears were ringing as she watched the orange flames ignite into life and consume the very place she had called home. Blood. The air spun around her and brought the smell of death with it. That's all she registered before she fell. The wind whipped at her body, slamming into her but she didn't let go. She held the box in her hands tightly, never letting go. She wouldn't let go, couldn't__let go. Her knuckles were white as she clung to the small mahogany box as if her only living purpose was to never let it go. And it was. From birth she had been entrusted with the care and safety of this box and if this was the only to keep it from them then so be it. Her eyes were tightly shut as she sensed the ground as if it was screaming up at her. She felt a sudden warmth spread out through her body, the very tips of her fingers tingling. A sense of accomplishment buzzed within her very soul as she drew her last breaths. Then it happened. When they arrived at the edge of the cliff they couldn't see the body. They couldn't hear the screams from the people left in their wake. They couldn't feel the heat coming from the burning remains of the houses. They couldn't smell the blood that stained the floor. All they saw was the ethereal glow that shone from below. Another victim had been killed because of it. Another keeper had been sacrificed to keep them from it.

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_**I hope you liked it :D There's more to come soon I promise! Reviews = Love ^^ x**  
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